The ethics of brain doping

[Morca007]

Article

I'm not sure how I feel about it. I've always been curious as to the effect that Ritalin might have on me in terms of concentration. But I'm wary of tampering with brain chemistry.

It's definitely not a new thing, I've heard judges at speech tournaments tell stories of kids doing speed or cocaine before rounds so that they can speak faster.
That's where the sports ethics comes in, in such cases, it seems wrong, like a football player using steroids. But there are such a large amount of people who are prescribed it as treatment for perceived ails that the line where it becomes abuse is quite blurry.

And what about in academia? Is it alright to use a performance enhancing drug while writing a paper, taking a test? Is it any different than ingesting large amounts of caffeine in any way other than scale?

 

[dazedgonebye]

That's an amazing sort of question.

As far as the ethics of the thing is concerned...
Unless it's prescribed to you, you'll be breaking the law...generally thought to be an unethical thing. Past that, I'd say you're old enough to know right from wrong and if by chance you don't know it by now, it's likely too late for you to learn it.

Physically, it's an extrodinarily stupid thing to do. I'm ADD and have Tourette's. I take a number of drugs to help me live a relatively normal life and I wish to God I didn't have to. I worry about the currently unknown long term effects of these things. Taking narcotics unessesarily goes beyond a benifit/risk situation and well into just plain nuts.

 

[40oz]

I'd agree the "ethics" is simply a secondary argument. "Performance enhancing drugs" for a paper? A speech? What is possibly gained?

I seriously question the claim that students take speed or cocaine prior to a speech tournament, but whatever. People will believe whatever they want to believe.

IMHO, claiming to be in a "blurry area" oneself is evidence one is attempting to cheat someone but trying to rationalize it. Any endeavor that requires practice, hard work, or skill will always attract those who think there is a shortcut to victory. There is no shortcut.

Someone who cheats and still wins, by taking steroids for example, would have succeeded anyway. It requires to much practice, training, hard work to succeed, to better one's peers. Homerun records aren't a function of arm strength, they are a function of coordination and practice. A particular player might have taken substances to improce his physical performance, but anyone ho's ever played baseball knows that actually hitting the ball is the hard part, not the distance. And no drug will improve a batter's ability to see where the pitch is going and meet it with the bat. Nor will a drug tell the batter how to hit the ball to maximize distance. The drive that led them to use dope also led them to succeed in the first place.

That's the sad thing about "performance enhancing drugs." Anyone who succeeds using them already had the skils and training necessary to succeed.

 

[Morca007]

40oz- Hard to believe, I know, but it does happen. More common is abuse of Ritalin or Adderall.
They certainly aren't a shortcut to victory, but they can be a large aid to those using them. In debate, the ability to 'spew' or put out a large amount of arguments in a limited time can often win or lose a round, and the ability to concentrate more certainly changes how well one can structure an argument.
For the record- I think that it's an abominable practice, but it does happen.

 

[dee]

Forget it - I have been asked if I would like to take it for my relentless ASD and totally dee's ruptive - like every moment ] gender stuff [ boy / girl / me / ]

It's been proven not to work on ASD kids long term anyway , and there sre side effects .

I use my cameras to contain an '' out of phase '' world through a window .. it makes for serious obsession - but it's better than screaming !
ALL the time '' me '' is kinda lost - but who would I be otherwise ?

dee